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Dye Sub Shiny Box Hanes 4820 Cool Dry Dri Shirts

4682 Views 12 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  freebird1963
I ordered Hanes 4820 Cool dri from Bodek and Rhodes specically for sublimation as it states in the description they are suitable for sublimation. After many ruined shirts and complete frustration, we are out of ideas on how to remedy.
When we press on graphite and light blue it leaves a shiny box from the press. We've tried reducing temp time, reducing pressure, reducing temp, using foam, using t pad, tearing paper pressing inside out. Pressing with nothing on it every combo of these we can think of....the result no matter what we try except for getting the temp/pressure so low it doesn't sublimate, is a big shiny box where the press hit it. We also have done white and safety orange, while there is a sheen difference on these it's passable.

Does anyone know of a way to avoid this??

We are totally out of ideas and are planning to return to B & R of course they are not aware of any issue and plan to charge us a restocking fee for the blank left overs!
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Some shirts/colors/brands are much more apt to leave a shiny box than others.
Yes, it's just frustrating they have marketed them as ok for sub, but obviously not. I had the same problem with SportTek, but they don't advertise it as a dye sub product. Also had it happen with badger silver, but again they aren't selling as dye sub. Do you know of any that are the performance fabric..not spun poly that handle the press ok in silver, blues, charcoals? I've only received a few samples from conde but it looks like the colors are in spun poly as to not show the sheen.
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We do a lot of dye sub on 4820's without problem. The long sleeve 482L is pretty good as well.

I've never had the "shiny box" issues once we've dialed the machine in for the shirt.

I press these on with foam underneath and teflon on top at 365F for 1 minute.

I haven't used the blue shirts, but we do a bit of white and safety green.


4820 white


482L (long sleeve version) in safety green
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Thanks for the info! The safety orange and white seem to be ok. The orange left a light sheen before washing, and we can't see it after. We've washed & dried the blue and the shiny box remains :(
I'm having the same "shiny box" or in some cases faded shirt color with both the Hanes H4820 and the Sportek ST350 colored shirts. I am at a point of giving up on them.

If anyone has any recommendations as to how to circumvent the problem, please post!!

I have a request in to my wholesaler to get me a contact at Hanes that I can discuss the issue with, maybe I can get more info through that channel. I will post if I do.

That being said, I have not tried the colored shirts from Vapor Apparel yet, and I would like to know if people have the same problem or if they have had success. I have one in stock, I will probably print it tomorrow and see what happens.

Thanks,
Riph
I

That being said, I have not tried the colored shirts from Vapor Apparel yet, and I would like to know if people have the same problem or if they have had success. I have one in stock, I will probably print it tomorrow and see what happens.

Thanks,
Riph
Are they basic or micro-performance shirts? Micro performance are more sensitive to excessive pressure.

Make sure the pressure is not too high and the temp is around 190-200C.
I press Vapor coloured shirts at light to medium pressure for 60 sec and it works fine for me.
Are they basic or micro-performance shirts? Micro performance are more sensitive to excessive pressure.
I have a Basic T, in Alpine Spruce. I will print it today.

As for time/temp/pressure, I was using 380F (193C) for 30 secs at very minimal pressure (it reads "0" on my pressure sensor) and I use Vapor's foam underneath.

And to be more specific, what I am seeing is discoloration more than deformation of the fabric. The heated parts of the fabric turn lighter, on both the Hanes and Sportek colored shirts I have tried.
I finally gave up and sent them back. Of course B & D charged me the restocking fee which I'm not at all happy about. I don't think there is a solution to this, but would be awesome if there was!
I'm having the same "shiny box" or in some cases faded shirt color with both the Hanes H4820 and the Sportek ST350 colored shirts. I am at a point of giving up on them.

If anyone has any recommendations as to how to circumvent the problem, please post!!

I have a request in to my wholesaler to get me a contact at Hanes that I can discuss the issue with, maybe I can get more info through that channel. I will post if I do.

That being said, I have not tried the colored shirts from Vapor Apparel yet, and I would like to know if people have the same problem or if they have had success. I have one in stock, I will probably print it tomorrow and see what happens.

Thanks,
Riph
We do tons of Vapor Color shirts (basic and micro) No issues to report once you dial in the correct process and temp for each style.

Jae
I had a Vapor Apparel Micro Performance T in athletic gray, it printed great this morning - no shiny box, no coloration changes.

At this point, I think I will stop spinning wheels with the Hanes H4820 colored shirts until I get a definitive answer from them about their suitability for Dye Sub. Thanks to all for your contributions to this thread. :)
I have a Basic T, in Alpine Spruce. I will print it today.

As for time/temp/pressure, I was using 380F (193C) for 30 secs at very minimal pressure (it reads "0" on my pressure sensor) and I use Vapor's foam underneath.

And to be more specific, what I am seeing is discoloration more than deformation of the fabric. The heated parts of the fabric turn lighter, on both the Hanes and Sportek colored shirts I have tried.

I press them at 50-60 sec with great results. Some shirts look a bit different when you take them off the press (either darker or lighter), but return to thier normal colour when they cool down.
Is the shiny box not the previously sublimated area being resublimated when doing the pressing of the new design ?
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